Blue Jays hire Seitzer

Blue Jays hire Seitzer

TORONTO - Former All-Star third baseman Kevin Seitzer has been hired as hitting coach of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Seitzer replaces Chad Mottola, who got the job after the 2012 season when Dwayne Murphy moved from hitting coach to first-base coach.

The 51-year-old Seitzer was hitting coach for Arizona during the first half of the 2007 season and for Kansas City from 2009-12. He had a .295 average with 74 home runs and 613 RBI for the Royals, Milwaukee, Oakland and Cleveland in 12 major-league seasons.

Toronto, which announced the hiring Thursday, was 73-89 this season and was 15th in the major leagues with a a .252 batting average. The Blue Jays said Oct. 7 that Mottola and Murphy will not return for 2014.